One day before the start of the important meeting in Istanbul between the delegations of Ukraine and Russia, the secret services in Kiev launched a sophisticated attack destroying 41 enemy strategic bombers and probably other targets, according to eyewitness reports.
Operation Spider Web, as named by Ukrainian authorities, was prepared for 18 months and was triggered after the announcement by the US administration, according to official sources in Kiev, but there is no official confirmation from the White House. CBS television station claims that Donald Trump was unaware of the Kiev forces’ attack.
From the available data so far, five air bases were attacked with drones launched from trucks parked near Russian military units.
One of the targeted air bases is near the town of Irkutsk, over 4,000 kilometers from the border between the two countries.
"A group of SBU agents transported 150 small attack drones and 300 explosive charges to Russian territory. Out of the 150, 117 drones were launched towards targets," described Ukrainian journalist Yuri Butusov the secret operation.
"The drones were controlled through Russian telecommunications networks and attacked from close range during the day, behind enemy lines," Butusov explained.
"The air bases were defended by significant artillery forces, anti-aircraft missile systems, electronic warfare systems, armed patrols, but the Russians were taken by surprise, expecting nighttime attacks with heavy and large attack drones visible in the air; they did not anticipate an attack with small drones during the day," the Ukrainian journalist further wrote.
"The attack on the Olenya base, Murmansk region, in the north of the continent, which hosted TU-95 strategic missile-carrying bombers, was devastating; the drones precisely hit the aircraft's fuel tanks, which burned on the ground. An operation of such magnitude and with such colossal economic and military impact, at such a high technological level, has no analogy in the world," Yuri Butusov added.
In a statement released, Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, stated that in one of the attacked regions, the drone launch site was right next to the FSB headquarters, Russia's secret service.
Panic at the Kremlin
34% of Russia's long-range strategic bombers with nuclear capabilities have been damaged or destroyed during the Spider Web operation, announce military bloggers, labeling today's Ukrainian attack as Russia's Pearl Harbor, according to a post on X by OSINTdefender.
The damage inflicted on the Russian army after Sunday's attack amounts to 7 billion dollars, according to representatives of the Kiev government.
Sunday started off badly for the Kremlin, with reports of three explosions at bridges and railway lines, affecting a passenger train, a freight train, and one transporting military equipment.
By destroying several nuclear-capable strategic bombers operated by Russia, the Ukrainian forces have made the world safer...
Michael MacKay, expert in economics and political science, post on X/Twitter
A few hours later, images and video clips of fires near Russian military bases began to appear on social media. Subsequently, panic ensued for the Kremlin forces as they realized that trucks with drones were moving inside the country and attacking strategic targets.
The success of Operation Spider Web represents the biggest setback for Vladimir Putin since his immense mistake of launching the invasion of Ukraine three years ago.
"The Kiev regime today carried out a terrorist attack using FPV drones against airfields in the Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur regions.
At the military airfields in the Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur regions, all terrorist attacks were repelled.
In the Murmansk and Irkutsk regions, as a result of launching FPV drones from an area near the airfields, several aircraft components caught fire.
The fires were extinguished. There were no casualties among military and civilian personnel. Some participants in the terrorist attacks have been detained," stated the Russian Ministry of Defense in a press release issued Sunday evening.
Ukraine clandestinely introduced drones into Russia, disguised by a false floor built in trucks transporting wooden furniture...
Christopher Miller, journalist, war correspondent
A Point of No Return for Putin
The fact that Russian representatives acknowledge the losses of bombers indicates the scale of the attacks, which will also have an immediate political impact.
Certainly, the relationship between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will enter a new, much more tense phase, as the secret operation unfolded after the White House was notified by Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president.
Most likely, Trump will use the impact of this humiliating defeat for Putin to force him to sit at the negotiating table and make some compromises for a ceasefire.
However, such a decision under the current circumstances would also entail a major political defeat for the Kremlin leader, one that could lead to explosive events in Moscow in the near future.
For months, some believed that Ukraine had no more cards up its sleeve. Many of us rejected this claim, saying that a turning point would soon emerge due to the failure of the Russian war economy and the lack of adaptation by Moscow's leaders, but especially thanks to the Ukrainian government, strongly supported by the population, which innovatively used special operations and drones, managing to counter Russia's offensive. Ukraine's superiority will soon be evident on the front lines.
Mark Hertling, US general, former commander of American forces in Europe
Putin has pushed the conflict in Ukraine to a point of no return for him. A ceasefire would mean accepting defeat, but it would also create a complicated social situation. 600,000 soldiers are currently deployed on the Ukrainian front, over 800,000 have been killed or seriously injured, and the economy is a war economy. In the absence of a military conflict, unemployment, inflation, and poverty will prevail.
An armistice with Ukraine would create a favorable context in Russia for a change in the political regime.
Furthermore, the secret operation carried out by the Ukrainians also indicates that they will not surrender or give up the territories occupied by the Russians.
They are far from being defeated. Moreover, the success of the attacks on Sunday shows that they still have cards up their sleeves and hold an informational and strategic advantage over Russia.